Book review: 'Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library' by Chris Grabenstein

Three of his Haunted Mysteries featuring Zack Jennings received the Agatha Award for Best Children’s and Young Adult Mysteries. And, in May, “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library,” a book with new characters, won the 2013 Agatha Award.

Kyle, a seventh-grader, loves playing — and winning — all kinds of games, including board games and video games. His favorites are by Mr. Lemoncello, a master gamemaker.

Kyle’s not “big on books.” At first, he doesn’t care about an essay contest to spend the night in the new Alexandriaville, Ohio, library. Then, he hears it was Mr. Lemoncello who donated $500 million for renovations.

Mr. Lemoncello grew up in a poor immigrant family in Alexandriaville. When he was 12, a librarian named Mrs. Tobin encouraged him and helped him with English and to produce his first game. He’s coming in person to judge the essays and select 12 12-year-olds for prizes and an overnight in a computerized wonderland with books, games and the latest technical equipment.

Kyle; his friend, Akimi, a reader; and Charles, whose family motto is “We eat losers,” are among the winners. They enter the library’s three-story rotunda, where the dome projects videos from space or subjects from Dewey Decimal categories. Holographic images of Mrs. Tobin, book characters and a tiger roam the building.

The next morning, the kids may leave. But to win a big prize and become famous, they must stay and solve clues involving research and reading to find a secret exit.

The story is an escapade through Grabenstein’s creative mind and a tribute to librarians. Kids who like to read, and even kids who don’t, will keep turning pages and might even make a list of books to read this summer.

June Weltman is author of “Mystery of the Missing Candlestick” and a Jacksonville mystery writing instructor.